Hydraulic installations



July 27, 1965 P. coucET ETAI.-

Filed Oct. 4, 1963 HYDRAULIC INSTALLATIONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 PIER/E aucET AND/ez Cum/ 2f MIM/5;@

July 27, 1965 P. coucl-:T ETAL HYDRAULIC INSTALLATIONS Filed Oct. 4, 1963 m M m FIG. 2a

/H VENTORS July 27, 1965A P. COUCET ETAI- HYDRAULIC INSTALLATIONS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed ocfc.' 4, 1965 United States Patent O 3,196,798 HYDRAULIC INSTALLATIONS Pierre Coucet and Andr Culaud, Geneva, Switzerland, assignors to Ateliers des Charmilles SA., Geneva, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Filed Get. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 313,831 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Oct. 17, 1962, 12,145/62; July 19, 1963, 9,037/63 9 Claims. (Cl. 1113-87) The present invention concerns a hydraulic installation comprising in combination a turbine and a pump such as illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,996,995.

Hydraulic installations of the above type are already known. However, these known installations, although permitting a reduction in the size of installations comprising a turbine and a pump which are absolutely independent of each other, still take up considerable space due to the fact that suction pipes are directed in opposite directions with respect to the wheels of the pump and of the turbine.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hydraulic installation in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are overcome.

According to the present invention the hydraulic installation comprises in ycombina-tion a turbine and a pump, the turbine wheel and the pump wheel being mounted in adjacent positions on the same shaft, one and the same casing being provided for feeding the turbine and for the reception of water delivered by the pump, means permitting the separation of the internal space of the casing from the space in which the turbine Wheel rotates and the space in which the pump wheel rotates, characterised in that a suction pipe of the turbine wheel and the suction pipe of the pump wheel are disposed coaxially on the same side of the wheels with at least a part of their length contiguous with the wheels.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial section of one embodiment of the invention;

FlGURE 2a is a section along the line lI-II of FlG- URE l;

FIGURE 2b is a section along the line III-lll of FIGURE 1; and

FlGURES 2a and 2b are likewise sections along ll--ll and lll-ll respectively of FGURE 1, but showing a second embodiment.

This hydraulic installation comprises a shaft 1 connecting an electric generator 2 to a turbine wheel 3. The shaft 1 is carried, at its `end facing the turbine wheel 3 by a bearing 4. On this same turbine wheel 3 is interlocked a pump wheel 5 forming a body with the turbine wheel 3. This assembly, turbine wheel 3 and adjacent pump wheel 5 is mounted in cantilever at the end of the shaft 1, it being understood that the installation described refers to an installation having a horizontally disposed shaft. 0n the left hand side of the turbine wheel 3 there is disposed a base 6, usually called an upper base, whereas a base 7, usually called a lower base, is disposed on the right hand side of the pump wheel 5.

The turbine further comprises a distributor formed by a series of blades 8 orientatabie on their axis 9 from which are keyed levers 1i) pivoted on a gating circle 11 by means of crank arms 12. This turbine further includes an advanced distributor of which the fixed guide vanes 13 are elbowed in (see FGURE 2a) to effect a reversal of the direction of the tangential component of the water to its entry into the turbine. Water is drawn through the advanced distributor from a spiral casing r. ICC

14 connected, for example, at the lowel end of a forced conduit. The pump comprises a diffuser 15 presenting xed guide vanes 16 of weil known construction, as is shown in FIGURE 2b. This diffuser 15 opens into the same spiral casing 14 used for feeding the turbine.

As is shown in FlGURE 1 the suction pipes 17 of the turbine and 18 of the pump are disposed coaxially on at least a part of their length on the same side of the wheels 3 and 5. These suction pipes 17 and 18 are then elbowed downwardly, at certain distances from the wheels 3 and 5, the suction pipe 17 of the turbine crossing the wall of the elbow 19 of the suction pipe 13 of the pump. These two pipes then extend substantially parallel with each other over their ends gearing to their respective elbows 19 and 26 to a downstream common reservoir 21.

Means may be provided for the separation of the internal space of the common casing 1d, from the space in which the turbine 3 turns and the space in which pump 5 turns. In the embodiment represented these means cornprise two gates or sluice valves, having independent sheaths, one gate 22 permits the separation of the internal space of the casing 14 from the turbine wheel 3 and the other gate 23 permits the separation of the internal space of the casing 14 from the pump wheel 5. Preferably, these two sheath gates 2.2 and 23 are controlled independently to permit their simultaneous closing in the case of draining of the machine, in the event of an inspection for example. The functioning of the hydraulic installation described above is effected in the following manner: when the installation functions as a turbine, the spiral casing 14 is fed with water from an upper accumulating reservoir, for example, by means of a forced conduit. In this case the sheath gate 23 is closed, in such a manner as to isolate the pump wheel 5 from the casing 14, while the sheath gate 22 remains open and the work of the movement of the orientatable bladed distributor 8, by means of its gating circle 11, permits the adjustment of the turbine. This thus entrains by means of the shaft 1, the generator 2 which furnishes current in the mains. The pump wheel 5 is rotatably entrained simultaneously to the turbine wheel 3. However, this rotation only entrains a negligible loss of power, as the pump wheel rotates in a space filled with air and not with water. The turbine wheel 3 thus rotates in a clockwise direction with regard to FIG- URE 2a.

The installation functions as a pump when a small demand of electricity exists on the mains and when a part of the available electric power can be used to send back water in the upper accumulating reservoir, in which case the sheathed gate 22 is closed to isolate the space in which the turbine wheel 3 rotates, this space being emptied of water, and the sheathed gate 23 being open. The generator 2 then functions as a motor and drives, by means of the shaft 1, the assembly of the turbine wheel 3 and the pump wheel 5, likewise in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIGURES 2a and 2b. The water is then aspirated from the downstream reservoir 21 through the suction pipe 18 of the pump and is delivered by the pump wheel 5, firstly into the diffuser 1S and then into the spiral casing 14, to iiow back up to the upper accumulating reservoir.

As is apparent from the preceding description, the direction of rotation of the machine is the same, not only when functioning as a pump, but also when functioning as a turbine, this being due to the presence of advanced distributor cross pieces, or xed guide vanes, 13 of the turbine which are elbowed to effect a reversal of the direction of tangential component of the ow of water to its entry into the turbine.

A further embodiment, represented more especially in FIGURES 2A and 2B, comprises the same essential members as the embodiment represented in FGURE 1. Moreover in this second embodiment, the xed guide vanes 13 of the advanced distributor of the turbine are of usual form, in such a manner as to guide the water spirally from the casing 14 towards the turbine wheel 3 passing between the blades 8 of the adjustable distributor. The direction of the rotation of the turbine is thus counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIGURE 2A. The blades 16 of the diffuser 15 of the pump 5 are elbowed (see FGURE 2B) to eifect a reversal of the direction of the tangential component of iiow of water to its discharge from the diffuser 15. These elbowed blades 16 thus permit an incurvation of the water at the discharge from the diffuser 15, so that the direction of rotation of the pump S is the same as the direction of rotation of the turbine 3.

The functioning of the hydraulic installation in the second embodiment being similar to that of the iirst it is not necessary to describe it in more detail here.

Numerous variations and embodiments of installations described above could be conceived. Thus, the suction pipes 1'7 of the turbine and 18 of the pump could be coaxial from the wheels 3 and 5 up to the downstream communal reservoir 21. However, the arrangement represented in the drawings is preferred since it diminishes somewhat the size of the installation. Of course, in the case of an installation having a vertically disposed shaft, the suction pipes 17 and 13 could be coaxial from the wheels 3 and 5 up to the level of the water of the downstream reservoir 21. There also, the disposition with elbow-would be preferred, as it reduces the height or" the excavation for the housing of the suction pipes of the turbine.

In the example shown, the two suction pipes 17 and 1S discharge into the same downstream reservoir 21. However, it is very clear that there could also be provided `an installation in which each suction pipe discharges into an individual reservoir.

insofar as concerns the means permitting the isolating of the internal space of the spiral casing 1d from the space in which the turbine 3 rotates and the space in which the pump wheel 5, these could be formed by any masking device. Thus, the distributor having orientatabie vanes S of the turbine could itselrr be used as a masking device.

For the simpliiication of the drawing, the turbine wheel 3 and pump wheel 5 have been superposed in one piece. However, it is very clear that for machines having large dimensions, it would probably be preferable, to facilitate the construction to make these two wheels in an independent manner and connect them after manufacture.

In the embodiments described above with reference to the drawing, the pump wheel as well as its suction pipe 18 surrounds the turbine 3 and its suction pipe 17. However, it is very clear that the reverse arrangement could also be made, that is to say the turbine wheel 3 discharging at its outlet into an annular suction surrounding the suction pipe of the pump.

We claim:

1. A turbine and a pump for a hydraulic installation, comprising a iirst wheel acting only as a turbine rotatable in a chamber and a second wheel acting only as a turbine likewise rotatable in said chamber, both said wheels being mounted in juxtaposition on a rotatable common shaft, a casing having an internal uid reception cavity adapted to deliver iiuid to said turbine wheel and to receive iiuid delivered by said pump wheel, valve means in said internal cavity for permitting the separation of said cavity from the chamber in which the turbine wheel rotates and the chamber in which the pump wheel rotates, a first suction pipe communicating with the discharge side of said turbine wheel and a second suction pipe communicating with the intake side of said pump wheel, said two suction pipes being disposed coaxially on the same side of the wheels with at least a part of their length contiguous to said wheels.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said two suction pipes discharge into a common downstream reservoir on the side remote from the wheels.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said shaft is disposed horizontally and both of said wheels are mounted cantilevered at one end of said shaft.

4l. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the suction pipe of the pump is disposed around the suction ipe of the turbine in the proximity of the wheels on their horizontal ends, each of said suction pipes being elbowed downwardly at such a distance from the wheels that the suction pipe of the turbine crosses the end of the suction pipe of the pump, the two pipes being substantially parallel on their ends which extend from their respective elbows to a downstream common fiuid reser- Voir.

5. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the turbine wheel and the pump wheel are interlocked one on the other to form a single rotatable element.

6. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the valve means comprises two independent sheathed gates, one to permit the separation of the internal cavity of the casing from the turbine wheel and the other to permit the separation of the internal cavity of the casing from the pump wheel.

7. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the turbine comprises an advance distributor, the biades oi which are elbowed to effect a reversal of the direction of the tangential component of tlow of water to its entry into the turbine and to permit a direction of rotation identical for operation as a turbine and for operation as a pump.

8. The combination according to claim ll, wherein said pump includes a diffuser, the blades of which have an outline permitting an incurvation of the water from the exit of the pump into the casing cavity to have a direction of rotation identical for operation as a turbine and for operation as a pump.

9. The combination according to claim S, wherein the blades of the diifuser are elbowed to eifect a reversal of the direction of the tangential component of water at its outlet from the diffuser into the casing cavity.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,447,292 874s van Acker zee ns 2,996,995 s/61 culaud 10347 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,319,041 l/63 France.

LAURENCE V. EFNER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT M. WALKER, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,196,798 d July 27, 1965 Pierre Coucet et al.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered petent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column l, lines 48 and 69, for "FGURE", each occurrence, read FIGURE column 3, line 63, for "turbine" read pump Signed and sealed this 5th day of April 1966.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDEE lEDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A TURBINE AND A PUMP FOR A HYDRAULIC INSTALLATION, COMPRISING A FIRST WHEEL ACTING ONLY AS A TURBINE ROTATABLE IN A CHAMBER AND A SECOND WHEEL ACTING ONLY AS A TURBINE LIKEWISE ROTATABLE IN SAID CHAMBER, BOTH SAID WHEELS BEING MOUNTED IN JUXTAPOSITION ON A ROTATABLE COMMON SHAFT, A CASING HAVING AN INTERNAL FLUID RECEPTION CAVITY ADAPTED TO DELIVER FLUID TO SAID TURBINE WHEEL AND TO RECEIVE FLUID DELIVERED BY SAID PUMP WHEEL, VALVE MEANS IN SAID INTERNAL CAVITY FOR PERMITTING THE SEPARATION OF SAID CAVITY FROM THE CHAMBER IN WHICH THE TURBINE WHEEL ROTATES AND THE CHAMBER IN WHICH THE PUMP WHEEL ROTATES, A FIRST SUCTION PIPE COMMUNICATING WITH THE DISCHARGE SIDE OF SAID TURBINE WHEEL AND A SECOND SUCTION PIPE COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTAKE SIDE OF SAID PUMP WHEEL, SAID TWO SUCTION PIPES BEING DISPOSED COAXIALLY ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE WHEELS WITH AT LEAST A PART OF THEIR LENGTH CONTIGUOUS TO SAID WHEELS. 